Ikaruga model kit edition will be coming west on PS4 and Switch
Nicalis has announced that Japanese physical release of Treasure's iconic shmup Ikaruga will be headed west this fall. Pre-orders for the limited set are now live over at the official Nicalis store.
New Neptunia project for 'new hardware' to be revealed tomorrow
There are a lot of unanswered questions pertaining to the next generation of gaming platforms, but we can finally put one of the most important, crucial inquiries to rest. Yes, Nep-Nep will be making an appearance in some fashion on next-gen consoles.
Compile Heart has announced that it plans to reveal a "new development" in the Hyperdimension Neptunia series tomorrow, August 19. Incidentally, this date represents the tenth anniversary of the franchise, which began with the release of original JRPG Hyperdimension Neptunia and has gone on to spawn several sequels and spin-offs, alongside a catalogue of cute memes.
The new project will be revealed as part of a "Compile Heart TV" live stream, which will broadcast sometime in Japan's evening hours. No further information regarding platforms, release date, or whether this new development was a straight sequel, a VR title, another spin-off, or something else entirely. I guess we'll just have to wait and see. NEPPU!
Neptunia new development for new hardware to be announced [Gematsu]
The publisher of TERA, as well as Dark Crystal and Stranger Things games, is shutting down
En Masse Entertainment, widely known as the North American publisher of TERA (formerly TERA Online), is shuttering.
The news was announced on the TERA Facebook page, as the publisher explained that they had "begun the process of discomfiting the business of En Masse Entertainment" yesterday. They're focusing on helping out their team now, but will announce more information on their current array of products "in the coming weeks."
As a note, TERA will continue (as well Closers). because it spans far beyond the scope of En Masse. Korean-based Bluehole Studio is ultimately at the helm of TERA, with three other publishers in league with them beyond En Masse handling worldwide publishing duties. En Masse even confirms that "support will continue."
Even if you've never heard of En Masse, it was kind of a big deal to a lot of people. TERA has been in operation since 2012 in North America, even moving to current-gen consoles in 2018. The publisher also handled several games that are still in operation, as well as handling one-off publishing duties for titles like Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance and Stranger Things 3: The Game. En Masse even had their own launcher!
You can find the full statement below.
TERA [Facebook]
Elite Dangerous: Odyssey is a 'layer across the whole game'
Frontier Developments is starting to open up about Elite Dangerous: Odyssey, the next step in the space sim's ongoing adventures. In this "early 2021" expansion, you'll be able to ditch your ship for a bit of otherworldly on-foot exploration. Better yet, you'll be able to scan alien vegetation and sell the data.
I recently spoke with a pair of developers working on Odyssey to try and fill in a few of the blanks.
Art director Jonathan Bottone called Odyssey "one of the largest updates where we've taken the technology that we had originally, reworked it based on the simulation, and created an even more immersive experience than before." Players have been losing themselves in Elite Dangerous since 2014.
Odyssey is a visible new entry point for the long-running game but "not at the expense of the existing player base," according to lead designer Gareth Hughes. Frontier is sticking to the "fundamentals" of Elite. "For us, it's combat, trade, exploration, and all the blurry bits in between that merge," he said.
"It's 'How can we take those things from the space game and transpose those into on-foot so it doesn't feel like we're making a compartmentalized addition?' It feels like a layer across the whole game."
Planetary exploration will be a matter of "How far can I go before my suit energy starts to run out? Am I going to be able to make it back to my ship? Am I going to be ambushed while I'm out there?"
"We're playing around with how heat, gravity, and radiation will affect the player," said Hughes.
"We're still balancing that stuff. It has to be enough of a threat without suppressing your ability to actually go out and explore. It's a really fine balance to make these environmental factors meaningful without them affecting the gameplay loop so severely that it's no longer fun."
Whatever it takes to fill in Codex entries, I'm probably in. They'll claw away at my mind.
Aside from your pilot's scanner – a tool used to "identify organics in your locality on the planet surface" and extract "genetic information that can be sold back at port" – I had to ask about outposts.
Hughes told me that human settlements are "populated by the factions you're used to seeing." You can accept missions from NPCs, trade with them, "massacre them," play the role of pirate – the usual. Elite Dangerous "doesn't tell you who you have to be and when you have to be that."
Players will also be able to disembark at ports. They're intended to be "social hubs where you can meet other players, find mission givers that you might not otherwise experience, and create a safe space where pilots can meet and do piloty things," according to Hughes. "The social element is important."
I'm curious to see how on-foot combat shapes up – it wasn't shown during the remote press event – and how well Frontier will manage to keep planets feeling distinct from one another given the scope of Elite in general and this DLC in particular. Odyssey seems like a challenge, but it's one worth taking on.
Contest: Win Dreamscaper for Steam
In today's contest you can win a Steam Early Access copy of surreal action-RPG Dreamscaper!
It feels like forever since we've given anything out around here. What's it been, like three days? Let's fix that by giving out copies of Dreamscaper, which just hit Steam Early Access. That'll scratch the itch!
Planet Coaster: Console Edition has keyboard and mouse support if you really need it
I wasn't worried about how Planet Coaster: Console Edition would fare on Xbox One and PlayStation 4, but if I had been, a recent live hands-off showing from Frontier would've helped convince me.
The visual fidelity was there, and while I only saw a theme park in its early, not-too-crowded stage of life, Planet Coaster didn't show any worrisome performance blemishes in a build running on Xbox One.
I also saw some new character-driven tutorials (which reminded me of Planet Zoo) and the reworked-for-gamepads control scheme (which looks like it'll click within the first hour once you get the contextual buttons down). One of the highlights was the up-close, first-person coaster-building tool.
Frontier "rebuilt the UI from the ground up" in an attempt to "make the basics super accessible and still retain all the intricacy of the tools," according to lead designer Andrew Fletcher. "We had a good experience with Jurassic World Evolution and bringing that to console and PC at the same time," he said. "That kind of showed us that there was an appetite for management games on console platforms."
On that front, Planet Coaster: Console Edition will come with far more pre-built creations "so that newcomers can more quickly put a park together," it'll support mouse and keyboard – "you can just plug in and out and it'll switch on the fly" – and there's a Frontier Workshop for sharing user content.
You can browse content like parks, coasters, shops, and scenery items. You can even follow creators, rate items, and edit them. Frontier "built up a whole sharing platform" to "foster the community."
Next-gen consoles were an "ideal opportunity" to "really go big," said game director Gary Richards.
He added that if you buy Planet Coaster on PS4 or Xbox One, "all that content and all your save games and everything you create in those versions will be upgraded to the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X version when you then upgrade your console. There's no reason not to buy it. Everything will transfer across for free."
With the way these console ports are shaping up, I sincerely hope Planet Zoo is next.
The next Batman game is probably getting revealed tomorrow
Oh, Warner Bros sure does love a good tease, huh? Now that it has two DC Comics games in the hopper, the teases are coming fast and furious. The latest one points to an imminent reveal.
A new verified Twitter account has popped up with the handle @r3dakt3d. The bio for this edgy l33t-speak account reads #DCFanDome. It only follows two accounts, WB Games (the publisher) and WB Montreal (the developer). It has a URL with the same "r3dakt3d" branding. This site simply says "We have been expecting you. 8 [August] / 18." That's tomorrow.
If you do some link chasing from the site, you'll find an Instagram account with this tagged photo:
Battletoads has a bike achievement that will drive you hopping mad
The Turbo Tunnel was the end of the road for most Battletoads players. The infamous bike stage -- only the third level in the game -- was so difficult that most people never progressed past it. It was like running into a brick wall both literally and figuratively.
The Battletoads that launches this week probably won't have anything so notoriously punitive. Developers generally want players to finish their games nowadays. There's a bike level though because paying tribute is important. And there's an achievement tied to it that might ruin some friendships.
Xbox Wire released most of the Battletoads achievements today (save for five secret, probably story-spoiling ones) and "Live and Let Drive" sticks out like a sore thumb. You'll need everyone to stay alive on bikes for 5 straight minutes in three-player co-op. Jordan's input on this challenge is that he played the bike level at a show with another journalist and they "died a lot." However, Jordan did not have the familiarity, memorization, and practice that you and your friends will eventually have. I'm confident you can do it, even if it requires finding more talented friends.
Here are the Battletoads achievements. With some luck, skill, and perseverance, Pimple and Zitz won't be the only things poppin'.
Learn about the sexier side of Skyrim on this episode of Podtoid
I imagine one of the most entertaining parts of building an epic video game is building up the world players will be exploring. There are many different ways to do this, and in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, you can find a lot of information about the inhabitants of this world the old-fashioned way: in a book. You can find out about the history of the land, as well as some saucier little details you might not expect.
That's just one of the topics on this episode of Podtoid. Charlotte, Dan, Occams, and CJ talk Skyrim, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, IKEA furniture, Epic's lawsuits, Galaxy of Terror, and the Xbox Series X launch. All that, plus you shouldn't point a gun at your dick, on Podtoid Episode 455.
Hitman 3 is 'making some changes' to Elusive Targets and dropping Ghost Mode
As the "dramatic conclusion" to the current Hitman trilogy, you'd probably expect Hitman 3 to maintain most of the side modes from the last game, especially given IO Interactive's trajectory with this series. That said, there are a few removals and changes – some of which will affect Hitman 2 players.
In a blog post, IO Interactive outlined Hitman 3's modes:
- Campaign: "A globetrotting adventure to sprawling sandbox locations."
- Elusive Targets: "The stakes are high and the clock is ticking" but the developers are "making some changes to the Elusive Target formula that we'll reveal at a later date."
- Escalations: "Expect your gameplay skills to be pushed to the max as new elements are thrown at you in each stage of the contract."
- Contracts Mode: "Choose your own targets, choose how to eliminate them, and then make it all happen."
- Sniper Assassin: "Can be played in existing maps as a single-player experience only."
Ghost Mode, Hitman 2's one-on-one competitive multiplayer mode, won't be back for Hitman 3. Going a step further, IO is shutting down the Ghost Mode servers for Hitman 2 on August 31, 2020, and "taking all of those learnings onboard for what we do in the future with regards to multiplayer."
If you're stressed about unlocking the Phantom Suit, heads up: it'll be "added as an unlock in Hitman 3."
Similarly, IO Interactive is planning to sunset the co-op servers for Sniper Assassin in Hitman 2 "before the [January 2021] launch of Hitman 3." The team says it'll "share an exact timeline and a solution to the mode's multiplayer trophies in the coming months," so there's some silver lining at least. A smidgen.
As for PC VR, "what I can tell you today is that Hitman 3 will include PS VR support at launch." Uh huh.
HITMAN 3 - Game Modes [IO Interactive]
Do you love The Witcher 2 enough to watch a five-hour video essay?
Have you ever been at a party, maybe a little tipsy, and you get trapped in a conversation with a guy who just. will. not. quit. talking. Like, you're long past the point of feeling guilty about not contributing enough. You're over it. He's still yapping away, but you're focused one hundred percent on an escape plan. There's no way to break this off without feeling like a jerk. "Dude, I really gotta piss," you mutter before wandering in the opposite direction.
That inescapable party conversation is the spirit animal of this Witcher 2 breakdown. This video essay goes on for five hours, as YouTuber Joseph Anderson dissects (probably) every single aspect of The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings. I say "probably" because I definitely didn't watch this.
But Anderson isn't producing marathon videos, releasing them into the void, and praying YouTube's algorithm loves it. He already has a very dedicated audience for these videos. His Patreon pulls $6,000/month from about 1,800 supporters. His YouTube channel is over a half-million subscribers. People are tuning in and people are paying.
The Witcher 2 isn't a one-off random topic. Anderson's working his way through all of the games in CD Projekt Red's most popular series. His video on the original Witcher broke two million views and clocked in close to four-and-a-half hours. You can only assume that his inevitable Witcher 3 video will be the longest and most popular yet.
Sincerely, kudos on the hard work, effort, and dedication to produce these videos. I get tuckered out after blogging for like 40 minutes. I can't imagine chipping away at a project of this scale.
Spelunky 2 is releasing on Steam 'no later than a few weeks' after PS4
Clarifying the Steam release window for Spelunky 2, creator Derek Yu says that the PC version of the trap-filled roguelike platformer will be out within "a few weeks" of the PS4 launch on September 15.
There was a bit of fuzziness surrounding the Steam date – Spelunky 2's appearance during a recent State of Play stream was understandably PlayStation-focused – so it's nice to have more clarity.
The developers need time to "make sure that Spelunky 2 runs well on PC," according to Yu.
"That includes testing online multiplayer, but it's not the only thing we'll be busy with." Mossmouth and BitWorks are "working hard to make sure the two release dates are as close as possible."
He also mentioned that the Steam page has new screenshots, which my mind started dissecting and "playing," like you do (if you're obsessed with Spelunky). I'm gonna have a rough go with the lava.
@mossmouth [Twitter via PC Gamer]
Can you imagine a better Tony Hawk secret character than Jack Black as Officer Dick?
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater has no shortage of secret characters across its many games. Spider-Man can be unlocked in THPS2. Daisy, modeled after porn star Jenna Jameson, can be unlocked in THPS3. The list is long and fascinating, but none of the secret characters are more iconic than Officer Dick.
Officer Dick, more Paul Blart than RoboCop, is the policeman who is an unlockable skater in the first four Tony Hawk games. He's seemingly back for this fall's modernization of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, played by a very famous actor. Call it Tenacious Donut.
UFC 4 taps out Animal Crossing to take top spot of the UK Charts
Despite middling reviews, Electronic Arts' UFC 4 has successfully debuted at the number one spot of the UK Charts, with the MMA simulator pushing Nintendo's Animal Crossing: New Horizons off of the top spot and into second place.
A very quiet week for new releases saw little change across the board, as Sony's Ghost of Tsushima, Codemasters' F1 2020, and Nintendo releases Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Paper Mario: The Origami King, and Ring Fit Adventure continue to jostle for position within the Top Ten.
As we head into September, publishers will start to push out their big releases for the holiday season. Given the looming next generation of consoles, as well as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it will be interesting to see how the current climate affects customer behaviour during the year's most lucrative sales period.
Sports Story delayed on Switch to 'ensure that everything makes it into the game'
The next sports game from Golf Story developer Sidebar Games needs more time.
Originally announced for Q2 2020, Sports Story has "become rather ambitious," to the point where the developers "want to take some more time" with it. They're "excited about how it could turn out" and want to "ensure that everything makes it into the game." A new release date wasn't mentioned.
"We are eager to reveal the results of these past two years so please look forward to future updates."
We've prepared a Sports Story update video to shed some more light on the situation. âš½ï¸ðŸðŸŽ¾â›³ï¸ðŸ"º pic.twitter.com/FpGPVyFhD3
— Sidebar Games (@sidebargames) August 17, 2020
The team also shared a hint-filled video about what's in store, from vampires in a hotel to soccer with a dog. On that note, Sidebar previously pitched Sports Story as "a game about sports, but not always."
Speaking of cool indie games on Switch, Nintendo is streaming another Indie World Showcase tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. Pacific. Sports Story first showed up during one of these events.
The eShop can be a sludge-filled wasteland at times, but then games like Golf Story come around.
@Sidebargames [Twitter]
Check out 15 minutes of Control's AWE DLC right here
Publisher 505 Games has released a lengthy preview video for AWE, the incoming expansion for Remedy Entertainment's world-warping adventure, Control. The 15-minute video gives fans the chance to check out the DLC ahead of its official launch on August 27.
AWE will continue the bizarre adventures of SBC special agent Jesse Faden, as she investigates a new division of The Oldest House, on a mission that will take her beyond the walls of the bureau and into the mysterious backwater town of Bright Falls - a locale that may seem strangely familiar to many video game fans. Bring a torch.
The Witcher 2 is five bucks on Xbox 360/Xbox One for another week
Did you miss the memo that The Witcher is pretty popular right now?
Despite the fact that developer CD Projekt Red has only made three proper Witcher games in nine years, the series lives on through its legacy, as well as the recent success of the Netflix television series (which is already getting spinoffs).
If you've already devoured Witcher 3 and are looking for more, Witcher 2 is now an option on the Xbox store: where you'll find it for five bucks for the next seven days. As a note, this is the Xbox 360 edition (the game was never fully ported to current systems), but you can play it on Xbox One: or enjoy the "Xbox One X enhancements." If you're an Xbox Live Gold subscriber, you can actually get it for three bucks.
While a lot of folks fawn over Witcher 2 and 3, I'm still thinking about the original game, which is criminally not available on modern platforms outside of PC. While it's a bit dated it has one of the best storylines to date from CD Projekt Red, with nuanced narratives and a cast of three-dimensional characters. Give it a shot if you ever cross its path!
The Witcher 2 [Xbox]
Fire Emblem Heroes update has Three Houses leaders geared for battle
Now that they have enjoyed their summer vacation, it looks like the stars of Three Houses are ready to get back to the business of bustin' heads in this latest update for Fire Emblem Heroes.
Joining the mobile battler in this week's A New Future update will be Blue Lions leader Dimitri, Golden Deer head honcho Claude, and the ever-popular Black Eagles' overseer Edelgard. The quartet will be rounded out with the addition of one of Golden Deer's youngest students, Lysithea. Each of the characters is depicted adorned in particularly resplendent new gear.
Pokemon Home just added some welcome quality of life changes
Still use Pokemon Home? Well, it's slowly morphing into a more function app, due in part to the most recent update: 1.2.1.
Live now on mobile (and likely Switch at some point today), the new patch quite literally patches up some lingering issues, mostly in terms of quality of life changes. Search filters should now be more accurate (which is great considering the sheer number of Pokemon out there now), including searches for mythical creatures.
You can also put multiple Pokemon in the Wonder Box at once (nice) as well as navigate battle data screens better (there's a back button now!). It's all very small potatoes, but eventually a ton of these little patches will add up. Pokemon Home is a nice app in the long term, as three supported platforms ensures that it won't become a legacy program after the Switch has run its course.
Pokemon Home [Apple]
Did you check out the Marvel's Avengers beta?
This week saw Square Enix open the doors on its upcoming comic book extravaganza Marvel's Avengers, as the third-person adventure offered select players another opportunity to check out the superhero action ahead of its September launch.
This latest beta was made open to Marvel's Avengers pre-order customers, as well as users of certain network providers, such as Verizon and Virgin Media. It is no doubt hoped that allowing players get to grips with the action might help to turn around some of the negativity that has surrounded the game in recent weeks. Early impressions, weak gameplay trailers, and a slew of piecemeal marketing offers, (not to mention the Spider-Man x PlayStation controversy) has left pre-launch perception of the epic adventure in a poor place, way before Iron Man and co. even had a chance to suit up.
Still, the fact remains that Marvel's Avengers has not yet launched, and as such could still win over an audience provided it offers solid gameplay, great characters, an engaging story, and an enticing world. There remains much to do, as in the eyes of many fans - yours truly included - Marvel's Avengers has thus far failed to generate the same degree of interest and hype that one expects, especially post-MCU, from an Avengers product.
Marvel's Avengers launches September 4 on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. Next-gen editions are in the works for PS5 and Xbox Series X, and are scheduled to launch in late 2020.
It's not quite a Direct, but Nintendo is streaming an Indie World showcase tomorrow
Where's the big summer Direct? Well it hasn't happened yet. It may never happen. But until then, we'll get plenty of side shows.
Announced this morning, Nintendo will air the next Indie World showcase tomorrow, August 18, at 12PM ET. It'll run for "roughly 20 minutes," and will provide "information on indie games coming to Switch."
As a reminder, these streams are very low key and mostly focus on known games, as well as vague date windows. If you want to get an idea of what type of announcements you can expect from one of these, you can view a full recap of the March 2020 Indie World stream here.
You can watch it directly below when the time comes, or at the Indie Showcase landing site!
Killer7 is not coming to Switch, according to the studio that ported the PC version
Killer7 should probably be on more platforms at this point. Okay, it definitely should.
After living comfortable on just the GameCube and PS2 for over a decade, Grasshopper Manufacture/Engine Software and NIS America got together to make Killer7 happen on PC: which is one of the most accessible platforms you can dream of.
But their work isn't over, as they need to add a few more modern ports into that mix. Based on a recent LinkedIn listing that dream was on its way to becoming a reality, but now that hope seems to be dead according to a new statement from port studio Engine Software.
Speaking to Nintendo Life, the Switch port was "never in development" according to Engine Software rep Ruud van de Moosdijk. They state that "the decision was made not to work on a Switch version," and that the LinkedIn listing "should have been changed," and was created erroneously.
Engine Software says that the Switch port "has not come up in conversation" actually, as Suda51 is "quite busy at the moment." The studio says to "never say never," but given that it took 13 years to get a lone PC port, it might be a while before we see more Grasshopper games on more platforms.
Turns Out Engine Software Isn't Bringing Killer7 To The Nintendo Switch [Nintendo Life]
Orwell's Animal Farm to receive video game adaptation
George Orwell's fundamental classic, Animal Farm, is to receive a video game adaptation. Developed by indie outfit Nerial (of Reigns fame) and published by The Dairymen, Orwell's Animal Farm will launch on PC and mobile platforms this fall.
Originally published in 1945, Animal Farm is an allegorical tale about a herd of farm animals who overthrow their human masters to form their own community of freedom and equality. It is not long before a natural lust for greed and power rears its ugly head - captained by a bullish pig known as Napoleon - and soon the animals find themselves in a similar state of control, under an entirely new band of ruthless dictators.
Upon release, Orwell's book received praise for its satire of politics, hierarchy, and man's general inhumanity to man. While initially penned as a spoof of The Russian Revolution and its following era of Stalinism, the themes of Animal Farm only ring truer as years pass, with its depiction of Napoleon's line-shifting hypocrisy representational of many world governments. The thinly veiled allegory may seem unsubtle to modern readers, but Animal Farm's themes remain disconcertingly apt.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends is a new co-op multiplayer mode coming this fall
Sony Interactive Entertainment, in association with developer Sucker Punch, has announced that a brand new co-op multiplayer mode is coming to acclaimed samurai adventure Ghost of Tsushima as a free update this fall.
Ghost of Tsushima: Legends will stand aside from the main single-player campaign and will feature a selection of heroes, villains and, seemingly, demons from Japanese folklore and mythology. With an emphasis on action, synchronicity, and combat, Legends will allow two-to-four players to team up online for savage, class-based swordplay and adventure.
A new round of Marvel's Avengers datamining uncovered a ton of very spoilery characters
Just recently a dataminer uncovered several characters in the Marvel's Avengers beta this past weekend that could be coming to the game, and that very same person managed to unearth even more names yesterday.
Reddit user 6plus4equals52 is back at it again, and this time the list is even more of a doozy than three potential Echo Fighters. You can find the full list below if you don't mind vague spoilers, which also includes potential villain appearances.
Summer Games Done Quick 2020 is now underway
It's that time of year once again, and nothing's gonna stop it. The Games Done Quick (GDQ) speedrunning community has hit the green light on its annual summer event Summer Games Done Quick (SGDQ), which will see some of the world's fastest, and trickiest video game players blast through a mammoth list of back-to-back titles while raising money for a good cause.
As long-time GDQ fans know, these events generally operate out of the Double Tree Hilton Hotel in Minnesota, but while the world remains mired in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the team has been unable to get together at their regular stomping ground. Undaunted, this year's SGDQ is an online affair, and will see players streaming their runs from the own homes, delivering the same action we've come to expect from these awesome events, but within a safer, socially-distanced environment.
Frequent nose-bleeder Master Roshi joins Dragon Ball FighterZ next month
It has been a minute since Dragon Ball FighterZ got a new character as part of its third season of DLC. Following the additions of Kefla and Ultra Instinct Goku earlier this year, Bandai Namco confirmed the third fighter to join the expansive roster this year will be Master Roshi. This dirty old man is bringing his legendary fighting style to FighterZ starting next month as the game's 41st character. To give fans an idea of how he'll play, Bandai Namco dropped the trailer below during its livestream on Sunday.
Cblogs of 8/8 to 8/14/2020: Yakuza, No Man's Sky, and survival horror
Cblogs Recap: Week 33
-Chierhu tries to figure out why Animal Crossing: New Horizons became extremely popular this time around.
-Dinoracha discusses the embedded loneliness in playing No Man's Sky.
-Shoggoth2588 continues reviewing the last decade in gaming, with this review of 2017. Here is part two.
-Manasteel88 shares the obvious about the difficulties in making games, even hobby-level games.
-ChronoLynxx starts Dtoid's first "TGIF" community discussion blog, check it out.
-Eggrollbuddy reflects on Sonic the Hedgehog Movie six months later.
Review: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers (Patch 5.3)
Well, here we are.
It's been a long time since the last Final Fantasy XIV patch: February, to be exact. There's a reason for that of course! But FFXIV fans have been hungry for more for quite a while, putting a lot of pressure on patch 5.3 to deliver the goods.
It does. The major patches usually do, because of how much effort the FFXIV team puts into them.
I'm something of a cheerleader for rail shooters. I feel the sub-genre has still gone largely untapped, and that it's a formula the indie market could really make work. Lost Wing is something like that. However, I'm also a huge snob, so it's going to take more than a bossy cameraman to impress me.
It attempts to bring a sense of speed and unpredictability to the mix while also focusing on its neon visuals and a synthetic soundtrack. It's like if you married Star Fox and Tron and they had a child named Audiosurf, but then they had another child and that's what Lost Wing is metaphorically; it's Audiosurf's little brother. It's similar but they probably wouldn't agree on anything.
When I first jumped into the Early Access phase of Risk of Rain 2, I enjoyed my time but naturally wanted more. I haven't revisited it since, and have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of content the game has in its 1.0 release.
A roguelike is nothing without content, and I can't wait to see where Hopoo Games takes this game moving forward, because what they've created with the jump from 2D to 3D has been great.
Rampart is the first Apex Legends character with a specific weapon type proficiency
Apex Legends Season 6 launches in two days, and compared to the map modifications and new weapon, the biggest potential shakeup to the meta between seasons is always the new character. In a character trailer released today, Respawn has finally provided more granular details on Rampart's abilities.
As expected, Rampart's tactical ability allows her to place cover walls that can be fired through in one direction, but there's a twist: outgoing fired is powered up, dealing more damage than usual. It appears she can place three walls in quick succession, one for each legend on a standard team. Also expected was her ultimate being the mounted machine gun Sheila, though the trailer does add that it has a long reload time, implying it has limited ammunition.
The one piece of the puzzle we have been in the dark about is her passive ability, and it turns out it has been quietly staring at us in game for a week now. The limited-time mode Always Be Closing Evolved introduced the graffiti mod for the Spitfire, which increases its magazine size and reload speed. It turns out that was basically Rampart's passive ability in a mod, as she'll have a natural proficiency with light machine guns, bumping those stats for the Spitfire, Devotion, and L-Star. This proficiency also extends to Sheila, so while anybody can use the mounted gun, Rampart will be the best with it.
Have we reached peak battle royale?
Well, the house that H1Z1, PUBG and Fortnite built have welcomed in many imitators, from the indie scene to the big leagues.
Hyper Scape is Ubisoft's attempt to step up to the plate, but like a lot of other Ubisoft projects, it needs some work until it's ready for prime time.
A Suicide Squad game may sound iffy but Podtoid has faith in Rocksteady Studios
Years of rumors about what Rocksteady was working on came to an end last week with the reveal it was working on a Suicide Squad title. With the David Ayer film tainting the property for many people who'd never heard of it before, can Rocksteady be the studio to repair their image? If the Arkham series is any indication, yes they are.
That's just one of the topics covered on this episode of Podtoid. Occams, Charlotte, Dan, Chris, and CJ are on hand to talk Rocksteady, Fall Guys, how it's too damn hot, Lego NES, Street Fighter V, and more. All that, plus you need to stop feeding your friends to bears, on Podtoid Episode 454.
Review in Progress: A Total War Saga: Troy
If I've learned anything from my brief time with a pre-release build of A Total War Saga: Troy, it's this: Don't piss off Achilles. He will walk over to you, no matter how many guys you have in your army, and stick you in the ass with a sharp spear.
Good thing that I'm Achilles, then.
Knuckle up for this week's Arcade Archives release, Super Punch-Out!!
Hamster is offering retro gaming fans the chance to step into the ring with some of the world's greatest - and weirdest - pugilists, as classic coin-op Super Punch-Out!! returns for Nintendo Switch.
First up, this is not the excellent 1994 SNES release, but the original 1984 arcade game of the same name, that was renown for its unique double-monitor cabinet. While not quite as slick as Nintendo's release a decade later, the original Super Punch-Out!! features the same cartoon visuals, pattern memorisation gameplay, and questionable global stereotypes of the franchise' later editions.
Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Old Classic Retro Gaming. Super Punch-Out!! is available to download now on Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8
(Update) Ask us anything on the Destructoid forums
[Update: The seventh of our popular Destructoid AMA sessions is now live! So stop by our official forums and take the opportunity to Ask Your Anything to Destructoid's Features Editor, Podtoid producer, and all-round good dude CJ Andriessen. Have Fun!]
Yup! You heard that right. Starting this month, we'll be hosting a series of AMA ("Ask Me Anything") sessions with members of Destructoid and our sister sites on the new and improved Destructoid forums.
If you've never been to one of these, the way it typically works is that the host commits to an hour to thoughtfully answer questions as they are submitted in semi-real time. You can come on the event day to participate, or enjoy the responses any time after. It's a great way to connect with the people that run this joint.
Here's the full schedule so far:
Got five minutes? Watch us put together the LEGO NES set
When Nintendo and LEGO announced they were collaborating on a new product line featuring the Super Mario franchise, I wasn't exactly stoked for what they were going for. It's certainly innovative and reeks of Nintendo's desire to differentiate itself from the pack, but as a collector in my mid-30s, it didn't mesh with how LEGO sets fit into my life as something I build over the course of the day and then admire from time to time afterward.
The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System is much more up my alley. Designed for collectors like me, this set is a behemoth with lots of tiny pieces and plenty of moving parts. It's a lot of work building it one sitting, and to give you an idea of how labor-intensive it can be, I recorded the entire process and condensed it down into a five-minute video for your viewing pleasure.
Them's Fightin' Herds' Shanty is definitely the G.O.A.T.
Mane6 has released the first gameplay trailer for a new character headed to ass-kicking hoof-'em-up Them's Fightin' Herds. Joining the equestrian roster is a super-cute and super-spunky sea-faring goat, Shanty!
In an extended breakdown session hosted on the developer's Twitch channel, a panel of Mane6 devs debuted Shanty's gameplay for TFH fans. It's still clearly early days, as some of our little pal's moves are early in the animation process, but we can see how her diminutive stature will offer Shanty incredible speed and air mobility as she charges and butts her way around the battlefield.
Amazon UK lists Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered for Xbox One and Switch
Amazon UK has a new bare-bones listing for a remastered edition of one of the most beloved entries of the Need for Speed series, Hot Pursuit. Amazon claims the remaster is headed to the Xbox One and Nintendo Switch platforms, with a supposed release date of November 13.
Released in 2010 for PS3, PC, Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii and developed by Burnout's Criterion Games, NFS: Hot Pursuit stripped back the simulation and customisation aspects of Electronic Arts' long-running racing series to instead present a bombastic, arcade-style wrecker, much akin to Taito's classic 1988 coin-op Chase H.Q.
Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid?
I don't know what it's like in your neck of the woods, but Hoo Boy its been scorchio here this week. Not quite as hot as last year - when my chocolate bar went grey and my PS4 console was fried in a thunderstorm - but the humidity here is pretty unbearable. Get out of the shower and have a shower. That kind of weather.
And that's not the only heat I've been feeling, as I've also had "The Man" on my case in Bandai Namco's Fast & Furious: Crossroads. Yes, your boy Moyse has taken his rightful place among The Family. Well, that was the initial idea, but I was kicked out after three days because Letty fancied me too much and Dom and Hobbs were salty about how jacked I am... Oh also, I can't actually drive a car. Still, be sure to watch out for my upcoming review.
So while I sit here throwing darts at a poster of Vin Diesel who is super jealous of me, why don't you "drift"* into the comments below and fill us in on what games you've been playing this week. It's been a quiet one for releases, but there's still plenty of great titles out in the wild right now. Whether you've been enduring the grim-dark of The Last of Us Part II, or enjoying the madcap action of Fall Guys, drop a comment below and let the people know.
Have a safe and pleasant weekend, from all of us at Destructoid.
*That's a term we car people use. Look it up.
Contest: Win Chroma Squad on Switch from Super Rare Games
In today's contest you can win Chroma Squad on Switch from Super Rare Games!
I keep working with Super Rare Games because not only do they put awesome indie games on cartridges, but they're also super nice folks who really care about gaming and the community. If you're on the fence about whether or not to give them a chance, let that one fact alone sway your decision.
Or, just let me help: They've given me a copy of their newest joint, Chroma Squad, to give out! I'm confident you'll love SRG as much as I do once you get your hands on their product.
Whooo is Anabela? Friday Night on Dtoid Twitch gets a shirt
Earlier this year, we hosted a contest on the official Destructoid Twitch channel where several streamers battled it out to impress us with their skills and personalities to win $5,000. As of the time of writing, we're currently hosting a second one, albeit with a more impressive $10,000 prize, sponsored by Gfuel!
Although she didn't win the contest, we were so impressed with one of the entrants – Anabela – that we've hired her to stream on our channel every single Friday.
Well, we decided that we should work on a t-shirt design for Anabela. Behold, the latest design for our merch store:
Created by Ashley Hay, our latest Whoooo? design is available to buy right now on the official Destructoid merch store, and can be printed on t-shirts, tote bags, face masks, hoodies and all sorts of other products.
The design itself features an in-joke with Anabela's community on her own Twitch channel, although it's likely to make it over to our own one. Besides, the owl featured on the design is kind of adorable.
As always, most of the profits from each product on our store go to the artists who designed them. So feel free to check out all of the lovely stuff that we have for sale.
A Total War Saga: Troy was claimed for free by 7.5 million players yesterday
As it turns out, free stuff is your Achilles' heel. Enough people claimed Creative Assembly's A Total War Saga: Troy yesterday to fill 25,000 of Leonidas 300-man Spartan armies. That's a lot of people dining in hell. Make a reservation.
Sega has revealed that A Total War Saga: Troy was picked up by 7.5 million players yesterday. In case you missed it (and we did our best to remind you!), Epic worked out a deal with Sega where Troy would be free on launch day as part of the Epic Games Store exclusivity. A whole lot of you took them up on that offer.
In a press release, Creative Assembly's Rob Bartholomew said "We were optimistic but we couldn't have predicted this level of excitement." He added "Now we get to welcome so many strategy players -- new and old -- to experience this incredible saga. We're very happy."
It'll be interesting to observe the trickle-down effect of this marketing stunt. A few years ago, the Total War series was at 20 million lifetime sales across all games. It just added 7.5 million to the tally (albeit with no increase in revenue). That's a huge, new userbase that might feel compelled to pay for the next game. You gotta think this will turn out as a positive for Creative Assembly and Sega, especially considering that Epic has already covered the development costs of Troy.
Anyone who missed out on yesterday's offer will have to feel compelled to pay for this game to play it. It has now reverted to its full, normal price of $50.
Horizon Zero Dawn got a PC patch but there's more work to do
From the outside looking in, it's surprising to see a "mixed" reception to Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition on Steam. This is a port of a beloved console exclusive game with a cool premise, setting, and character – and PC players were understandably excited to try it – but it's held back by technical issues.
Guerrilla released the first of presumably many PC patches for Horizon Zero Dawn today. The main order of business? Trying to fix certain crashes, broken "slowdown" mechanics, and wonky saves.
Patch 1.01
- Fixed an issue where the game would crash if the SteamUI didn't initialize properly on startup.
- Fixed an issue where Concentration and other slowdown mechanics wouldn't work for everyone.
- Fixed an issue where Windows/Steam profile names containing special characters would prevent some players from saving the game. We are still investigating other saved game issues as well.
- Fixed an issue where Windows/Steam profile names containing special characters would prevent some players from saving screenshots in Photo Mode.
- Fixed several backend issues.
- Fixed a video corruption issue for specific hardware. We're continuing to look at other hardware configurations as well.
The studio has also "improved diagnostic data collection when submitting a crash report" – a clear sign there's more work ahead. On that note, there are plenty of known issues left to iron out.
- Some players are experiencing startup crashes. Patch 1.01 fixes a few, but not all, of these crashes.
- Some players are experiencing GPU-related hangs during gameplay. The improved diagnostic data collection added in Patch 1.01 is aimed at making it easier to track these down.
- Some players are experiencing graphical settings issues, such as Anisotropic Filtering not working, 4K not displaying correctly, or HDR not working correctly.
- Some players are experiencing performance issues on specific GPUs or hardware combinations.
- We're aware of and continue to investigate all issues in this list on Reddit as well.
I would hope and expect the PC version to eventually get where it needs to be. (For Sony's sake, hopefully by the time Horizon Zero Dawn 2 enters the conversation again with its next big showing.)
Horizon Zero Dawn Complete Edition for PC - Patch 1.01 is now available [Reddit]
Crysis Remastered is almost finished but Crytek won't give us a release date
Crysis Remastered is launching on four platforms, but was delayed on three. The one that released timely? Switch! That's the exact opposite of how this usually works.
It paid off. The Switch version of Crysis Remastered is technically competent, which is an achievement for a game that's infamously technically frustrating. It mostly hits a consistent 30 frames per second in portable mode. It gets the job done on the least powerful of the machines.
The other three platforms aren't far behind. PC, PS4, and Xbox One are coming soon but Crytek stopped short of actually providing a release date.
Metroid Prime 4 is looking for a new lead producer
It's not often that we get any sort of update about Metroid Prime 4. Ever since its reveal at E3 2017 (with literally just a logo), neither Nintendo nor developer Retro Studios has said much of anything about it. That's why it's noteworthy when we get even the smallest insight as to its progress.
This news might not seem great, but it's not the five-alarm fire it looks like at first glance. Retro is trying to hire a new lead producer for Metroid Prime 4.
EA Play is the new name for EA's game subscription service
EA Access and Origin Access aren't going anywhere – in fact, the latter is about to come to Steam – but they are being rebranded. EA's game subscription service will be known as EA Play as of August 18.
The basic $4.99-per-month service will become EA Play, while the expanded $14.99-per-month tier will be named EA Play Pro. The selling points are staying the same, though – subscribers will get 10-hour trials of new games, 10 percent discounts on purchases, and access to full games in the Vault.
To try and bolster the value a little bit more, EA is also going to start giving out Ultimate Team Packs in FIFA, exclusive cosmetics, and other things of that nature in "monthly reward drops."
This isn't a service I'd probably ever subscribe to long-term, but I have used Origin Premier strategically on a one-month basis to play and finish newly-released PC games for $14.99. No complaints there.
As for the rebrand, it's simpler for sure. I never liked having to write out EA Access and Origin Access to describe essentially the same thing (the former is for consoles, the latter is for PC), to say nothing of their clunkiness. Streamlining them into "EA Play" is just easier at a glance for unfamiliar players.
Something to keep in mind when next year rolls around and EA hosts another EA Play Live event.
Get More Game with EA Play [EA]
Dragon Ball FighterZ live stream happening August 16
Dragon Ball FighterZ fans won't have much longer to wait when it comes to hearing news about their favourite fighting title. Bandai Namco has announced the next live stream for the tag-based scrapper will be taking place on August 16 - that's this weekend!
The Dragon Ball FighterZ Show will see the publisher reveal its plans for the immediate future of DBFZ. This includes showcasing future competitions, impending game updates and plans for the competitive scene which, (like all competitive scenes in 2020), has fallen afoul of the COVID-19 pandemic. The live stream will also include an "exclusive trailer," but Bandai Namco remains tight-lipped as to what this trailer will be revealing.
You can watch the stream live on the official Dragon Ball FighterZ Twitch channel. The action begins August 16 at 11:00 PT / 14:00 ET / 19:00 BST. Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is officially the name of Rocksteady's next game
The pieces are falling into place, all haphazard and chaotically. That's exactly how Joker and his band of misfit criminals would want it.
A detailed schedule for the upcoming DC FanDome has stolen some of the thunder from Rocksteady's August 22 reveal of its new Suicide Squad game. Now we know that the game is officially titled Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. An unlikely subtitle, but one that makes Rocksteady's next effort all the more intriguing.
Rocksteady's panel is being hosted by Will Arnett, which is an interesting choice to lead the discussion. There's some history there, as Arnett has voiced Batman in LEGO films. Come on!
That's not the extent of WB's FanDome game reveals. WB Montreal's next game will also be announced there, meaning that it's definitely DC Comics related. This project has leaked over the course of the past couple months, and it's most likely called Gotham Knights. This is evidently another Batman game. WB Montreal was the studio responsible for Arkham Origins which was the fourth (and kind of forgotten-about) game among Rocksteady's Arkham trilogy.
Really though, this is all just confirmation of the rumors that have been swirling since June. It seems as though all those leaks were spot-on. In eight days, we'll learn about more than just the premise and the branding. We'll actually see the near future of DC Comics video games all in one place.
Schedule [DC FanDome]
